Drinks with friends
by name-me
Summary: After a long shift the boys and Sara relax over a few drinks. Mentions of GSR and how Greg found out.
1. Chapter 1

**So the story is set during season 7 when Grissom is away on sabbatical. I wanted to try and write something a bit different, something that didn't centre around some dramatic event and this is what I have come up with. Hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. It's only going to be a short one, just a couple of chapters, but anything you have to say about the style of writting, the characterisation, plot etc. is much appreciated.**

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In the end they chose somewhere familiar, somewhere they had all spent many an hour unwinding after work together or sometimes even alone when they hadn't been able to face going back to an empty house. The bar was surprisingly busy given the time of day, but then this was Vegas. The only time any part of the city seemed quiet was when they had it taped off to investigate a crime scene and even then the constant hum of traffic and people from every imaginable walk of life was ever present. Sometimes it all became too much, even for the cities hardened CSIs, and a quiet drink with friends was just the remedy they all needed.

It had been Gregs idea. With Grissom away on sabbatical, a replacement CSI had been drafted in and he hadn't really gelled well with the rest of the night shift. Catherine seemed to have taken a real shine to him, not that they could really blame her- he was a good looking guy, even the boys had to admit this, and he had that "hansom-stranger" charm about him, but the younger members of the team couldn't help but feel a little suspicious of the new comer. He was beginning to grate on all of them and after another long shift neither Nick, Warrick nor Sara had taken much persuading when the suggestion of a post-shift drink had been proposed.

Nick held the door open for his friends before himself entering the dimly lit and smoky bar. He found himself wondering why they always seemed to come here when there were so many other more sophisticated bars and clubs in Vegas to choose from. He smiled to himself as he remembered that this was one of the few places they had never investigated in someway, good enough reason in his mind at least for picking this place above any other.

As this little expedition was his idea, Greg had been volunteered to buy the first round so made his way to the bar, hoping to charm the bar maid into serving him before the half dozen other guy also waiting to be served. Nick nudged Warrick in the side and nodded towards Greg an amused smile on his face. "Man he has no chance." Laughed Warrick shaking his head at Gregs pitiful attempts at flirting over the bar. Sara turned to look too and stifled her own laugh.

"Aw leave him alone." She said frowning at the men opposite her. "Gregs not that bad."

"Compared to Mr. Tall-dark-and-hansom over there?" Nick asked sarcastically referring to the man standing on Gregs left, towering over him by a good coupe of inches and who obviously spent a lot of time in the gym.

"Well yeah." She laughed. "I guess we may be waiting a little while for those drinks." The three friends continued to talk and laugh until Greg appeared placing four bottles on the table, which Nick distributed between them onto soggy beer mats.

"Beers all round." He said, sitting himself down next to Sara as a chorus of thanks came from his friends.

"Well, cheers guys." Said Warrick, raising his bottle. "Here's to…"

"The end of a long day? Closing a case?" Offered Sara.

"Yeah all of that stuff." He laughed as the four bottles met above the table and they each took a drink. There was a moment of comfortable silence in which all of the four friends took a moment to survey their surroundings, a force of habit that seemed to come with the job. They were seated at a small round table in a booth with a worn red sofa. The bar was mostly full of groups of men in their mid thirties, mainly locals. There was a group of woman sat in the booth opposite them, which Sara couldn't help but notice seemed to grab Gregs attention for much longer than anyone else in the room. Looking away from the table of woman and taking another mouthful of beer Greg began to speak, raising his voice just slightly to be heard over the music.

"So what do you guys think of Catherine and Keppler?"

"Oh she's defiantly into him." Nick said.

"Yeah but there's no way anything will happen. She's far to good for him." Warrick said shaking his head.

"Is that right?" Said Sara, leaning over the table and grinning at him.

"Yeah that is right." He said grinning back.

"So uh, what do you guys think of Warrick and Catherine?" Teased Nick, holding his hand to the side of his mouth as if trying to hide his words from the man in question. He received a sharp jab in the ribs from Warrick as they all started to laugh.

"But seriously man," Nick continued. "You're back on the market now you need to get out there?"

"And when was the last time you had a date cowboy?"

"Well…" He was glad the dim lights hid the slight blushing of his cheeks. "We're not talking about me are we?"

"Avoiding the subject stokes!"

"To be fair," Greg cut in tipping the neck of his bear bottle in Warricks direction. "We were talking about you first."

"You and a certain CSI Willows." Clarified Sara.

"Ok you're right but really there's not much to tell. Cath and I are just friends and anyway, I think I'm going to give the whole dating scene a miss for a while you know. I mean my divorce has only just been finalised, I don't think I'm ready to get back out there just yet." They all nodded. "So what's you're excuse?"

"For what?" Nick asked innocently.

"Not dating."

"I work bad hours." Nick shrugged, finishing his beer. They all laughed but had to admit that it was true. Working the nightshift and dating didn't exactly go hand in hand. "Another round?"

Of course they didn't say no and neither did they say no to the round after that. They had been sat in the bar for nearly two hours talking about anything and everything. Greg continued to cast glances in the direction of the girls table across from them. When the tall brunette in the tight jeans walked past Sara couldn't help but smile at Gregs expression. Clearly she had his attention and the flirtatious smile on the girls face told Sara that Greg had hers too. She was about to inform Greg of this observation when her phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket and stared at the screen, which displayed the name of the man whose calls she had been avoiding for nearly two weeks- Grissom. Only Greg was sat close enough in the dim, smoky room to notice the odd look on her face. She looked somehow sad and angry but relieved at the same time. As the phone continued to ring, Sara still staring at it, Greg gave her a gentle nudge. "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"No it's uh, it's not important." She said hurriedly thrusting the still ringing phone back into her pocket, having not realised quiet how long she had been sat there with it in her hand. She wanted to speak to him, to hear his voice but she was angry with him and confused and didn't know what she would say if she were to speak to him. In light of this, she had made the decision not to answer his calls until she had made up her mind about how she felt and about what she wanted to say. He had left for his sabbatical very abruptly and despite being in what Sara considered to be long-term relationship with her, he had not discussed the idea with her once. She couldn't help but feel that he was trying to escape from something, from her maybe. Or maybe it was just Grissom being Grissom. Even he admitted that he had done some pretty stupid things to harm their relationship in the past and maybe this was just another of those things. Sometimes the most intelligent of people can be the most stupid when it comes to the things that really matter. Wanting to avoid any unwanted questioning about the mystery caller, Sara was quick to offer another round of drinks to her friends.

"No I better get going." Said Nick the combined affects of alcohol and a long night making him feel pretty tired.

"Yeah me to. Got an appointment before work tomorrow so need to get some sleep." Warrick agreed. "Want to share a cab?"

"Sure." Nick nodded. "You guys coming?"

"I'm game for one more drink if you want to stick around?" Greg offered Sara, seeing that the phone call had upset her.

"Yeah." She gave him a grateful smile. "You guys go ahead. We'll see you tonight."

"Sure thing." Said Nick shuffling off the sofa and putting on his jacket. "Have a good day guys."

"You too Nicky." Smiled Sara. "See you Warrick."

"Yeah bye guys." Greg said as Warrick too put on his jacket and they began to head to the door.

"See you later." Warrick said. "And try and get him home in one piece." He joked to Sara.

"Yeah I'll try." She laughed. When they had left, Sara and Greg were silent for a moment. She looked away from him and began to search her jacket pocket for her purse, chewing nervously on her bottom lip, knowing Greg could tell something was on her mind.

"Is everything ok Sara?" He asked after a moment. She nodded but didn't look up and continued rummaging through her jacket. He placed a hand on her arm to stop her. "You sure?" She looked up now and flashed him an almost convincing smile.

"Yeah I'm sure Greg." She waved her purse at him and stood up. "I better get those drinks." He stood to let her past and watched her as she made her way to the bar. It was quieter now than it had been and she was next to be served. He had missed this. Spending time with her. They were such close friends but recently they just hadn't had the time to be alone and talk like they had used to. He shuffled along the sofa as she made her way back, placing the beers on the table and sitting next to him.

"I needed this Greg." She said leaning back on against the seat and turning to smile at him. "Drinks were a good idea."

"Something on your mind?" He asked. She closed her eyes and shook her head. There was something and as much as she wanted to tell him she couldn't.

"Just been a long couple of weeks that's all."

"Yeah." He smiled. She sat back up and took a mouthful of her beer. She looked at him, staring across the room at the brunette.

"Go talk to her." She said.

"What?" He hadn't really been listening, his attentions elsewhere.

"Go talk to her. Go on." She nudged him in the side urging him leave but he didn't move. "Go." She laughed.

"No. I don't think so." He said shaking his head.

"Why not. You've been staring at her since we got here."

"Well I can't just leave you sitting here." He said.

"Come on Greg I'm a big girl. I look after myself."

"But still…." He shook his head again.

"Ok." She shrugged, taking another drink. "But for the record, using me as an excuse for not getting yourself a girl, not cool."

"Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure I'd 'get the girl'"

"You'd be great catch Greg." She said sincerely.

"Ok now I think you've just had one too many to drink." He laughed.

"Hey!" She said, putting on her best shocked and offended face. "I could drink you under the table any day!"

"Yeah? That sounds like a challenge."

"Ok Sanders. Hand me the purse."

Three shots of tequila later Greg had to admit she was right. His head was starting to spin and he was sure one more shot would push him too far. "Ok I give in." He sighed lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You win."

"Well I did try to tell you." She said patting him on the back.

"Still think I'm a great catch?" They both began to laugh until tears started to roll down Saras cheeks.

"Oh yeah." She said between the laughter. "I do. Really." She said more seriously this time. He smiled. "Come on." She said placing a hand on his arm. "Time to get you home."

"Surely it should be me saying that to you, me being the man and all." He said, missing as he tried to put his arm into his jacket sleeve, an expression of confusion spreading over his face like he couldn't understand why it might have happened.

"Oh yeah." She laughed. "Very manly." They stepped outside their arms locked together, only then realising how musty the air in the bar was. "At least let me flag down the cab." Greg insisted pulling away from Sara and taking a few unsteady steps towards the curb. He waved his hand at a passing yellow cab, which obediently pulled over. He opened the door and turned to Sara. "After you my lady." He grinned.

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Next chapter comming soon...


	2. Chapter 2

At exactly which point during the taxi ride they decided that they should both go to Saras apartment rather than heading their separate ways was not clear to either of them but then it didn't seem to matter really. The fact was they were both now stumbling up the stairs, Sara fumbling with her keys trying to find the one to her front door. "Got it, I've got it!" She exclaimed.

"Then open the door faster. I really need pee!" Greg said, hopping slightly from foot to foot. The key turned in the lock and he hurried past her, closing the bathroom door behind him.

He re-emerged to find Sara standing in her kitchen, elbows resting on the bar that separated it form the living room, two beers bottles opened in front of her. "Better?" She grinned, standing up and holding one of the bottles out to him as he nodded. "Thought you might want a top up."

"Well I wouldn't say no." He said taking the bottle and smiling at her. "I'm going to err, sit." He said waving his hand in the direction of the sofa, realising he was having just a little trouble standing up straight. Rather unsteadily, he made his way to the sofa and sat down, taking a large mouthful of his beer and leaning back against the cushions with a sigh. "You know I think the last time you fed me this much alcohol was after you had just split up with Hank."

"Ah yes Hank." She sighed. "I remember that night. Well I don't actually remember…" She said, cringing at the memory of how horrifically drunk they had both been when Greg had taken her out in an attempt to cheer her up after she had found out that the first boyfriend she had had in years was cheating on her.

"You don't?"

"No not really." She admitted again.

"Good because neither do I." He laughed.

"Ugh he was a jerk." She said flopping down next to him. "All men are jerks. No offence." She patted him on the arm.

"Really? I'm supprised you think that you know because I was sure there was a secret man in your life."

"What makes you think that?" She said sitting up and looking at him intently.

"You just seem happy recently that's all." She sat back on the sofa again and took a bit gulp of her drink. "So? Is there someone special you want to tell me about?"

"Yes actually." She said turning to face him with a smirk.

"Really?" He asked sounding a little more shocked than he had meant to.

"Yes really."

"So what he like?"

"He's great. Smart, funny and I can talk to him about anything you know."

"That's great Sara." He said, genuinely pleased that she had found someone.

"Yeah." She said, her voice taking on a less certain tone.

"What? You don't sound so sure." He asked, his face falling.

"No I am. It's just… He can be pretty stupid sometimes. He does stuff sometimes that makes me wonder what he really thinks of me, what he really wants from me."

"Like what?"

"Like abandoning me for a month to go off on some trip to the other side of the stupid country without even asking me. He should have asked me right?"

"Yeah." Greg said nodding, bottle in mouth. "Definitely." It was starting to dawn on him who this special someone might be. "But you know Sara, some guys are just a little clueless when it come to relationships." And if he was right, her man was almost certainly one of them. "Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe he wants everything you want but he's just being a bit… clueless."

"Yeah maybe." She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "What about you Greg? Ever been in love?"

"Once." He answered after a moment.

"And who was the lucky lady?"

"You actually." He admitted shyly. She lifted her head and looked at him sadly. Her heart broke for him. Unrequited love was something she knew a lot about and it hurt. At least for her, the man she loved did eventually love her, or maybe he always had. Admittedly his feelings for her were in question at the moment but at least for a time, her love was reciprocated. Gregs never would be and it was all down to her.

"Greg…"

"It's ok." He assured her. "I realised you would never love me back and I got over it. Eventually."

"Greg I'm sorry…"

"No don't be. You can't choose who you fall in love with right?" She took hold of his hand and smiled again.

"I do love you Greg."

"In a completely asexual way." He added giving her a look that said he understood completely.

"Well yeah." She said, laughing slightly as she fell back against him, her head returning to his shoulder. "I think that last beer was a mistake." She said with a sigh closing her eyes.

"I blame you and your tequila." He said, his head falling to rest on hers. He expected an answer; some kind of witty retaliation but none came. He felt her turn her body to be closer to him as she let out a sleepy sigh. He smiled and closed his own eyes.

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They woke several hours later both in dire need of strong coffee, something Sara quickly set about remedying. "You got any food?" Greg groaned, opening his eyes a crack to look over at her in the kitchen.

"I have eggs." She said opening the fridge, which was practically empty. "Oh no wait," She said taking a closer look at the date on the top of the box. "Forget the eggs. They may be just a little past their best."

"No bacon or a big greasy sausages?" He asked hopefully.

"Vegetarian Greg." She said slamming shut the fridge door and flopping down on a seat at the breakfast bar, her head falling into her hands.

"I know." He said defensively. "I just thought this new man of yours might have been a bit of a carnivore."

"He is…he was." She closed her eyes tighter. "Ugh please God kill me quicker!" Greg chuckled as he made his way to the coffee pot waving it in front of her.

"Top up?"

"Please." She said gratefully. He refilled her mug and went to place the pot back on the kitchen counter, hovering with his back to her as he spoke slightly apprehensively.

"Sara, I'm sorry if anything I said last night embarrassed you."

"Oh no Greg." She said turning to face him. "You didn't embarrass me. It was actually kind of sweet." She stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm.

"I just don't want things to be awkward between us."

"They wont be." He smiled shyly. Clearly he was the one who was embarrassed. Sara was about to speak again when her phone began to ring. She sighed and pulled it from her pocket, knowing it had to be one of two people: Catherine asking her to come to work early or Grissom, and right now, she wasn't sure which was worse.

"You should answer that." Prompted Greg as she looked up at him, meeting his eyes as if search of some reassurance from him. "You need to talk to him Sara." She opened her mouth and then closed it again. It didn't matter how he knew who was on the phone, it only mattered that he did.

"But I… I don't know what to say."

"Well maybe when you start to talk to him you'll figure it out." She looked back down at the phone, Grissoms name still flashing on the screen. Greg lent forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you tonight." She nodded and flipped open the phone as he brushed past her on the way to the door.

"Hey." She breathed as her front door clicked shut, leaving her alone to face the conversation she had been putting off for so long.

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Sara was the last to arrive in the break room for the assignments to be handed out.

"You look err…" Started Nick, searching for a polite way to say that the hangover was pretty evident.

"About as healthy as Greg." Warrick finished grinning. Sara only grunted at them as she made her way over the coffee pot where Greg was already hovering, mug in hand.

"I thought you might need one." He said thrusting the mug at her.

"Thanks." She mumbled, clutching the mug with both hands and breathing in the strong scent, feeling instantly better.

"So what exactly happened last night?" Probed Nick.

"Tequila." The answered simultaneously receiving a room full of understanding nods.

"Well to avoid any unwanted reappearances of your dinner, you two can have the B and E in Henderson. No blood." Catherine said handing an assignment slip to Greg and Sara. "Warrick and Nick, you've got a DB in the Tangiers and you're with me." She said turning to the remaining CSI with a smile. Knowing glances were cast between the rest of the team as they left the room to head to their scenes.

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The case had been simple enough, something both Greg and Sara were very thankful for. They were now back at the lab and sat catching up on the dreaded paperwork. "So what did you say?" Greg asked eventually. After much debate about how to start the conversation he had decided to just be direct about it.

"What?"

"To Grissom. What did you say?" She looked shocked. "Come on Sara it wasn't hard to work out. There can't be that many people you would describe as 'smart and funny' and who have recently gone away for four weeks as short notice."

"Am I that obvious?" She groaned leaning back in her chair and shacking her head.

"Only when intoxicated. And besides, you're not the only one who seems happier." He smiled. "So go on, what did you say?"

"I told him that I missed him and that I couldn't wait to see him." She said nonchalantly, looking back down at the papers spread out in front of her.

"Sara…" He warned, knowing she was lying. She looked up at him, seeing instantly that there was no point in not being honest.

"Fine. I told him that I was angry with him for leaving and that I couldn't understand why he would do it if he loved me like he says he does. I said that I was sorry for ignoring his calls but I was upset and I was scared of loosing him and if I didn't answer then at least I could kid myself for a few more days that we were ok and that we could still be together." She said, her voice cracking slightly. Greg, slightly shocked by this outburst of honesty on what was clearly and emotional subject, was slightly lost for words. She shook her head and sighed. "I know I shouldn't have lost my temper but I just love him so much Greg. I can't stand the thought of loosing him."

"Sara, this is Grissom we're talking about. If he says he loves you then I'd be pretty inclined to believe him."

"I know and I do. I just wish he had talked to me about going so I didn't feel like he running away from me. I know he was scared to even start a relationship with me and I thought that maybe we were going to fast or that he had changed his mind."

"If it helps, I have rarely seen Grissom change his mind about anything." Greg offered, smiling at her. She looked up at him and smiled back.

"It does. Thanks Greg."

"So do you think you guys are going to be ok?" He asked after a moment.

"Yeah. I hope so."

"So do I. You deserve to be happy Sara." She smiled and wiped a single stray tear from he cheek. They sat in silence for a while as Sara tried to compose herself. "I would offer to take you out for a drink after the shift, cheer you up, take your mind of things but I'm not sure my stomach could handle it." He raised his eyes to look at her, smiling when he saw his words had had the desired affect as Sara chuckled.

"No, neither could mine."

"Why don't I go get us some more coffee?" He said standing up. She nodded, waiting for him to reach the doorway before she spoke.

"Greg." He turned back to face her. "Please don't say anything about this."

"I wont." He replied. She watched her best friend leave, knowing that she didn't even need to thank him. He was the only person in world besides Grissom who she felt she could really talk to. They had always had a slightly strange relationship, both feeling that they had a responsibility to protect and look out for one and other and although they had always been friends, since Greg had been out in the field they had grown much closer. It had broken her heart to see him suffering through the uncertainties of the aftermath of his attack and he had told her time and time again how much she had helped him to get through that. Now he was here for her, to help her through, and for that she loved him.

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THE END.

I would love to hear your opinion on the story so please review! Think there may be a sequal in this but not sure yet. What do you think? x


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